I was still a relatively young reporter in The Washington Post newsroom when the US launched its longest war in history following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I came of age as a journalist in the 20 years that followed, becoming part of a generation of reporters who ended up on a battlefield, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq. Even as I turned my reporting attention … [Read more...] about Former war reporter steps back into familiar role in helping Afghans evacuate
Opinion
Wash U chancellor harms free speech by embracing College Republicans’ 9/11 message while ignoring hateful attacks on student protester
Washington University has condemned student Fadel Alkilani for removing some of the 2,977 American flags that the College Republicans placed on Mudd Field this past weekend to commemorate the victims of the 9-11 attacks. In a statement issued Sunday, Chancellor Andrew Martin declared that Alkilani’s action impeded “the free exchange of ideas.” The university is … [Read more...] about Wash U chancellor harms free speech by embracing College Republicans’ 9/11 message while ignoring hateful attacks on student protester
Local media have role in fighting vaccine hesitancy, misinformation
A few days ago I shared an op-ed on my personal Facebook page by a doctor in Los Angeles who wrote that she was running out of compassion for the people unwilling to get the COVID vaccine. “Last year, a case like this would have flattened me,” the doctor wrote of a man who had refused to be vaccinated and was now dying. “I would have wrestled with the sadness and how … [Read more...] about Local media have role in fighting vaccine hesitancy, misinformation
Remembering William ‘Reck’ Recktenwald
Remembering a great journalist, investigator, teacher, mentor and friend When I woke up the day after William A. Recktenwald died this week, the first thing I heard in my head was his gravelly voice asking, “How are you doing my friend?” It was a greeting I had heard from “Reck” dozens of times over the past 15 years at the SIUC School of Journalism where we were … [Read more...] about Remembering William ‘Reck’ Recktenwald
The pandemic exposed deep inequality. We shouldn’t forget that in our race to ‘normal’
Every year since I became a journalism professor, I’m asked to do this strange academic ritual called an “annual report.” In that report, I’m required to document every course I teach, every article I’ve written, every meeting of substance, every project. It’s a basic accounting of my time that the college can then use to tell me if I’m pulling my weight. Of course it’s more … [Read more...] about The pandemic exposed deep inequality. We shouldn’t forget that in our race to ‘normal’